In a family law blog, one would be remiss to avoid discussing a new phrase that has caught national attention, raised some debate and probably even caused a few eyes to roll. We’re talking about conscious uncoupling; something that Gwyneth Paltrow recently announced she would be doing.
What is conscious uncoupling? It is a new way to separate that encourages working together to make splitting up easier on the couple and the children involved. During the process, the pair may even utilize breathing exercises and reflect on their own actions during the relationship — not just his or her partner’s.
Paltrow may have brought the phrase onto the national platform with her celebrity status, but it was actually coined by a psychotherapist named Katherine Woodward Thomas. She said that she heard a friend use the phrase in a conversation about their respective relationships. The woman then turned the idea into a business, offering her first workshop in 2011.
Two spouses may decide to consciously uncouple instead of fight one another, but it is important to remember that this isn’t a legal process. A pair that wants to end their marriage under the eyes of the law should still seek the assistance of a Columbus divorce attorney.
A divorce or dissolution will give the couple a legal end to their marriage. The divorce attorney likely won’t call it conscious uncoupling, but Ohio couples do have the option to file for a divorce in the most amicable way possible — we just call it an uncontested divorce.
Source: The New York Times, “A Third Party Names Their Split,” John Koblin, March 28, 2014